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June 17, 2011  
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Shop smart on Amazon with Aramex

Amazon.com is the largest worldwide store on the Internet, stocking almost everything and offering all kinds of deals and discounts one can imagine.

In recent years, online shopping craze grew very fast, as more and more people discover the priorities of sitting in the comfort of their homes and purchasing on the Internet whatever they like. A large selection of items from across the world and incredible variety of prices make the experience even more tempting. However, there are pitfalls and one should be either quite experienced or well informed to avoid them.

Firstly, the low prices that often lure online shoppers in many cases are shown without additional taxes and handling fees. If the customers are located in UAE, taxes don’t apply, but handling fees are applicable to items sold by third parties within Amazon.
Second, the shipping charges sometimes are quite steep.

While shopping at Amazon, you have to either subscribe for once a year fee Amazon Prime, or you will have to pay for every single parcel. In case you are planning to become regular customer, choose the Amazon Prime as it will save you a lot of headache. However, if you are a single individual and don’t usually buy gifts or items for family and friends, it may come cheaper to choose the one time fee structure.

Additionally, you will have to pay for your local courier, which in UAE is Aramex. The Shop and Ship service that the company offers is extremely convenient. All the processes are recorded online and easy to follow up on the website. A delivery form Amazon to Dubai was executed for exactly four days in early June 2011.

However, convenience comes with a price. To register for Aramex’s Shop and Ship service, one should pay a one time charge of US $35 (AED 129), against which the company opens a New York based post box for the shopper and collects all parcels under his name there before expediting it to UAE. This is not such a big expense if you are planning to buy relatively costly items not available  locally. Additionally, Aramex will charge shipping charges that are quite steep. The first half kilo of a parcel delivered from Amazon.com to Dubai costs AED 41 (US $11), and every half kilo more will add to the amount AED 32 (US $9).

The wrong example

A dedicated parent chose from Amazon two action figures from Schleich and a Deltora hardcover book totaling $32 (AED 118). Only the price of the toys at Hamleys in the Dubai Mall comes to over AED 118, which at first glance is a great discovery. One may think the book will come for free.

Unfortunately, two of the items were sold by Amazon, while the third one was offered by another retailer through Amazon, which means that Amazon shipped the three items in two separate packages. Apart from the inconvenience of two deliveries, there is also inconvenience in shipment charges calculations. Aramex adds few grams to the parcels usually to plump the numbers. An average medium sized book and small action figure toy could be weighted as much as 1.5 kilo, which is calculated to AED 105 (US $28). An additional envelop with a small toy, less than half kilo in weight costs AED41 (US $11) for delivery.

So, in the example with this purchase from Amazon, the shipping charges for the kids’ gifts totaled AED146 (US $40), while the cost of the items was US $32 (AED118). All together the purchase amounted AED264 (US$ 72), while if the same action figures and the book was purchased at the Dubai Mall, it would have cost less than AED200 (US $55).

Conclusions to consider

When choosing items from Amazon, it is very important to check who is the stockist. To receive it all in one parcel with simplified shipping cost and avoid multiple deliveries, one should shop from only one vendor. Amazon is the most highly recommended as it is the largest stockist.

Also, it is important to take a good look around, calculate and compare the cost in advance, at least approximately. Unique toys like Harry Potter LEGOs and 4D puzzles are not available in UAE yet. Kindle and all it’s accessories are also unique to Amazon. If such few items sold directly by Amazon are grouped together in one parcel, the purchase may actually be quite rewarding in terms of quality and value for money.

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